“Elizabeth Davies is a gifted storyteller. She never disappoints” Carmie Lee

Tell us a little about yourself. What got you into writing?

Reading has been my passion for as long as I can remember. I was always to be found with a book in my hand, content to lose myself in a story. I never thought I’d write one myself. But one day I was chatting to a friend about how I would love go back to 18 years old and live my life over again, with the benefit of the knowledge and experiences I have now. An idea for a novel was born. It will never see the light of day, but having completed one story, I knew I could write another.

How did you come up with your story?

The first novel I self-published was called State of Grace, and is about a woman who travels back in time and discovers vampires really do exist. This rather strange mix comes from watching too much True Blood and getting hooked on vampires, and wanting to combine in with my love of medieval history.

Tell me about your experience, what were the biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

Self-published was a very steep learning curve for me. The biggest challenge was not to write the novel itself, but the editing, publishing, marketing process. I had no money to comission a set of three covers (I had three books in mind for the series) and none of the pre-made out there at the time were close enough in theme, model,etc to link together. So I did my own, and not very well either. Realising a writer can’t catch all their own typos etc, was another thing I wasn’t expecting. The only solution to this is to hire a proofreader.

What is the result? Are you doing well? What would you have done differently if you could do it all again?For an unknown writer I’m doing okay. I don’t make enough to give up my regular job and any royalties goes towards the next edit, the next book cover.
If I could do it again, I would join a writers group first. I found the critiques invaluable in improving my writing.

What are you working on now? What are your future plans?

I stated work on another paranormal romance concerting a witch’s familiar. The first draft is almost done and I was hoping to publish for Halloween – until a friend pointed out that this novel should actually be the last in a series. When I thought about it, I realised she was right! So now I’ve got myself a series. A number of readers have also asked if I plan to write another book about Grace. (Resurrection series)I did intend the last one to be the last one, but then an idea for another Grace story popped into my head, and it just won’t go away!

What advice would you give unpublished writers?

Keep writing. Perfect your craft. Join a writing circle/group. Beta read – it will make you a better writer (honest). Make friends with other authors – most writers are more than happy to give advice. Keep writing. I know I said that twice but without practice your writing won’t improve. Don’t complete a manuscript and sit back and wait for responses from agents/publishers – you may have a long wait, so work on your next project.

Just for fun, which character would you kill off in your book if you had to and why?

Roman from the Resurrection series. My readers would be horrified!

Let’s hear about your Self-Publishing endeavor. Did you hire an Editor to revise your work?

Not at first. I put my first novel out there ‘littered with mistakes’ as one reviewer quite accurately pointed out. And I certainly did regret it. Lesson learned!

Was it difficult finding the right cover and blurb?I can lose hours scrolling through pre-made book covers and stock photos looking for ideas. It’s a real problem for me. I can’t resist – even though I know I’m going to ask Nicole Spence from Cover Shot Creations to work her magic. And when she emails me a proof I still um and ah, in spite of the fact I know it’s perfect.
Blurbs? Ha! Don’t even go there. I know what doesn’t work for me when I read other people’s blurbs, but getting it right for my own is a whole different issue. Still don’t think I’ve nailed it…

What made you decide to go the self-publishing route?

No one would take me on! I approached numerous agents and all said ‘thanks, but no thanks’. They may well have had a point – when I read back through my earliest work I cringe. Now I am happy with being self-published. I’ve got all the control, and I like that.

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